As part of the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project, Pew conducts regular surveys to gather information on who is interacting on the web, how people are accessing it, and what they are doing when they are there. As 2010 draws to a close, we have looked at Generations Online in 2010 – Statistics and Twitter Statistics and Info on Usage in 2010. In this article we will review more data from Pew on people’s activities online.
Who’s Online?
Source: Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project
- 79% of all American adults go online
- 58% of adults ages 65-73 (the Silent Generation) and 30% of adults age 74 and older (the G.I. Generation) go online
- Adults 18-45 constitute 56% of the online population (despite making up only 49% of the total adult population).
- Millennials make up 35% of the online population, (but are 30% of the adult population).
- 31% of non-internet users say that the main reason they do not go online is that they are simply not interested in doing so. 12% cite not having a computer, and 10% say that it would be too expensive.
How are People Accessing the Internet?
Broadband Usage
- 66% of American adult internet users currently have a broadband internet connection at home.
- 81% of Millennials have broadband at home.
- 73% of Gen X has broadband at home.
- 44% of adults ages 65-73 and 20% of adults over the age of 74 have broadband at home.
- 5% of adult internet users use a dial-up connection.
- 26% of adult internet users do not go online from home.
- 3% didn’t know what type of connection they had.
Wireless Access
- 59% of adult internet users go online wirelessly, either through their smartphones or through a wireless card in their laptop.
- Adults age 18-45 are the most likely to connect to the internet with a laptop, cell phone, or other internet-connected mobile device, as 82% of Millennials and 71% of Gen X connect that way.
What are People Doing Online?
Email and search engine use remain the backbone of online activities.
- 88% of the oldest generation use email.
- 73% of teens use email and they tend to use it more in formal situations or when communicating with adults rather than to communicate with friends.
- 83% of internet users have used the internet to search for health information.
- 66% of online adults use the internet to buy products.
Note: ~ indicates significant differences in question wording between teen data and adult data. Source: Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project surveys, 2008-2010. All teens data are from different surveys than adult data. Findings for individual activities are based on internet users. For survey dates of all activities cited, please see the Methodology section at the end of this report.
- Younger internet users ages 12-33 remain the most active participants in the web’s social services.
- 73% of teens and 83% of Millennials use social network sites.
- 50% of Younger Boomers use social network sites.
- 16% of adults 74 and older use social network sites.
- Internet users under age 34 are significantly more likely to read blogs—49% of teens and 43% of Millennials do this.
- 78% of Teens play games online, the most popular activity for that age group.
- 70% Online adults ages 34-64 visit government websites
- 61% of Millennials have visited a government website, up from 55% in November 2008.
- 44% of users ages 65-73 are turning to the internet for financial information such as stock quotes or mortgage interest rates.
- The number of Baby Boomers watching video online has increased by 20%.
- Members of the Silent Generation watching video online has increased by 15%.
- Members of the G.I. Generation buying products online has increased by 10%.
Tags: baby boomers, broadband, Corrie Davidson, demographics, e-Commerce, gen x, generations, millennials, online video, Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, statistics, wireless
